Global Conservation's work in Global Park Defense protecting eight (8) UNESCO World Heritage and national parks, including the stunning and priceless Northern Reefs of Palau, are highlighted in this summary of progress in 2017.

Almost half (45%) of UNESCO World Heritage parks – the most ecologically important places on earth - are being plagued by the illegal wildlife trade; 74% of natural World Heritage sites identified by UNESCO as ‘in danger’ are threatened by wildlife poaching and illegal trade.

First Mirador park ranger teams now operational patrolling thousands of square miles against illegal hunting, wildlife poaching, looting of archaeological sites, illegal logging, and land clearing and invasions.

Dr. Eric Dinerstein, Dr. Richard Hansen and Farwiza Farhan show us how a few great leaders can enable large-scale park and wildlife protection using proven technologies, economic models, and policy and legal strategies.

Global Conservation is focused on many of these highly endangered UNESCO World Heritage and National Parks to save intact megafauna and wildlife habitats across large areas of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Global Conservation is proud to announce that our Leuser grantee Farwiza Farhan, co-founder of Forest, Nature and Environment of Aceh ( HAkA ), has won the prestigious Whitley Award that recognize the works of conservationists around the globe.

The president of Costa Rica, Guillermo Solis, with his wife Mercedes Peñas Domingo, took advantage of their stay in Guatemala to make several visits to UNESCO World Heritage sites in the country, travelling by helicopter to visit Mirador National Park.

Global Conservation is supporting legal efforts, public relations and lobbying of the Indonesian government to block a new Spatial Plan proposed by the Governor of Aceh province. Currently, this spatial revision is in review by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Indonesia and could lead to the rapid destruction of critical wildlife habitats and primary forests.

Over the past five years, Thap Lan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site just 3-4 hours from Bangkok, has become the epicenter in the war on poaching of precious rosewood as well as wildlife in one of the last intact primary forests in Southeast Asia.

Global Conservation support for Leuser Ecosystem protection enabled the arrest and successfully prosecution of one of Indonesia’s most notorious palm oil companies, resulting in a $26 million fine upheld in Indonesia’s Supreme Court, one of the first major rulings for illegal forest destruction upheld in the country’s history.